A view of Nyamo Lotha road, one of the busiest intersections in Dimapur city. (Morung File Photo)
Bogged down by unabated multiple taxation and intimidation
Dimapur, April 22 (MExN): The Dimapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) has resolved to go for indefinite shutter down of all shops and business establishments in Dimapur with effect from April 26 citing “no end in sight to the unabated multiple taxation, intimidation and summons.”
The shutter down would be enforced until redressal of the grievances of the business community, stated a press release from the DCCI. It further requested the State Government and law enforcing agencies to take immediate steps to protect the business community before situation spirals out of hand.
The government and its agencies can no longer afford to ignore what the business community is going through, it added. The Chamber further reminded business community not to entertain any call or summons to visit offices of different Naga Political Groups (NPGs) without the knowledge of DCCI. The business community is not against any group or factions, only against multiple taxation and extortion, it added.
Further, for their own safety, the DCCI advised shopkeepers and traders to never entertain or keep any article or belonging of customers or strangers in their shops.
Meanwhile, DCCI requested the civil society organisations and public at large to bear with the inconveniences due to the proposed indefinite shutter down, and to lend their support and cooperation for the interest and welfare of all citizens.
New modus operandi of ‘extortion’
According to the DCCI, the NPGs have been resorting to “unimaginable tactics to extort from the business community” in the recent times and expressed aghast over the development.
“Some NPGs have gone so far as to bring their own MRP (Maximum Retail Price) stickers machines to shops with the sole intention to implicate the shop owners,” it claimed.
Thereafter, they (NPGs) would call some YouTubers and news channels and alleged that the shop owners are trying to manipulate the MRP, it stated. Without knowing the real motive behind such acts, these YouTubers and news channels then upload such feeds on social media which go viral, it added.
Another strategy by some NPGs is to “plant illegal substances in shops to tarnish the reputation of the shops,” it maintained. Allegedly, after the ‘planting,’ they “summon the shopkeepers and penalise them with hefty fines.”
“Before indulging in such criminal acts, the perpetrators usually confiscate the CCTVs/DVR installed in shops to hide their illegal designs,” the DCCI added.
The Chamber also pointed out that there is let up to the harassment meted out to the business community in Dimapur by the NPGs in the forms of multiple taxations, intimidation and summon letters.
Just last week, one of the NPGs brutally assaulted a businessman and extorted money while they trying to abduct him. The businessman had to be hospitalised because of the severity of the assault, it informed.
The business community also has to face the daily harassment of being summoned to the camps and offices of the NPGs under threat, it added.
In this connection, the DCCI iterated that the will to survive in the competitive market is waning among the business community “as the little profit they make through hard labour is being snatched away at gunpoint, leaving many households in tears.”
It also underscored that due to the unfriendly business environment in Dimapur, many business houses are shifting from Dimapur to neighbouring town in Assam, where the price of goods and materials are much cheaper.
How long will the business community tolerate such summons and threats?, the DCCI asked, while conveying its resolve for indefinite shutter down from April 26.
